"Immortal Machine" | Dystopian Animated Short Film (2021)

[@aubreyackermann8432]

He wanted so badly for the exceptional girl to condemn him, to find a better way, to fix his creation. Instead, he got an immortal assistant with a crush.

[@AlexLopez-jy7ro]

Hate it when that happens

[@sonofliberty8872]

@@AlexLopez-jy7ro I blame taxes.

[@zerwardzelaiine7622]

This is my thought flow but wouldn't it be possible that these queens or assistants are put there to be immortal until they can come up with something that requires less bloodshed? They are sitting there after all :p

[@SrLupinotuum]

@@zerwardzelaiine7622 that bring the question, why a search for a girl? Not a woman nor a man not even a boy, a girl. Is it a fixation with the sick girl he holds in his arms? What happened to her? Was she special?

[@aadityamangalam394]

@@SrLupinotuum They didn’t search for her, she started breaking the normal traditions and after running away they caught her, so it has nothing to do with gender.

[@hene3260]

The mayor is the embodiment of the quote “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain”. In a way, he isn’t a villain, he’s just frustrated that he can’t find a better solution and is stuck with this really messed up system

[@mizv4043]

I wonder....did she turn him into the friendly shadow?

[@davindestroyer]

@@mizv4043 hmmmm, *interesting*

[@tnuoccaekafsi9808]

@@mizv4043 As neat as that would be I think there is just a bit too much of a personality difference, the Mayor appears burdened and weary whereas the Shadow seems empathetic. Also the Mayor basically needs to stay inside the tower to maintain his health, he has been alive for at least a few centuries and I doubt much is keeping alive besides those tubes on him

[@rockspoon6528]

@@mizv4043 Highly doubt it.

[@BeaverChainsaw]

He doesn't have to be a bad guy. Instead of killing people for blood, why not have them donate blood, humans have roughly a gallon of blood, why not just have them donate a pint every few weeks?

[@ashenwynter3194]

I find it so interesting that the Goddess has slowly turned to look more human, while the Mayor has slowly turned to have the features of what the Goddess looked like when she was wilting. No real eyes, no mouth and withering away.

[@sophiaredwood5825]

I love this comment so much

[@Vampeerz]

wait is it really the goddess? Because in the video dont feed the freaks we see something similar looking to the goddess

[@ShadowReaper1227X]

Just a theory, but I think when the goddess shocked the mayor’s daughter, she transferred her life force to her; which would explain the mayor’s affection for the new goddess. It’s not a divine creature to him. It’s his own flesh and blood. And to keep her alive is his primary objective.

[@VitaNewbo]

@@ShadowReaper1227X Huh. That makes me wonder.... I was thinking that it was probably not good for the goddess to be sustained by humans, since she yells in anguish when they inject her with the blood soup. Her being a child, though, kinda makes me think of when you have to convince a kid to take some nasty medicine.

[@d.v.3314]

@@ShadowReaper1227X I was assuming that she looked the way she did in the flashback because she was withering, but she was still a distinct godlike being, and she looks as she does now because she's being sustained by human life. I suspect this isn't the first city that tried to preserve their god/goddess, but it's the first that's succeeded.

[@kazumas3369]

I'm a bit late with this, but I just had a sad, twisted realization. The world outside had healed and it's no longer the hellscape the mayor thinks it to be. In "Friendly Shadow", at the end, the girl leaves Autodale with the freak and, like, she doesn't die. Meaning the sole reason Autodale keeps running the way it does is because of pure paranoia of an apocalypse that has long since passed.

[@lolulysse0076]

oh my god never tought of this thanks for the perspective

[@orphancharmander1168]

I wound wont ever heal, just look at 2019, poisoned vaccines, from outside of the Northern of Autodale, the world is still sick, and we must heal the wound 🇩🇰😬❤️

[@Mizusk1_Broken]

The humans outside turn into freaks like in "don't feed the freaks"!

[@sneaky1053]

Although, in "don't feed the freaks", you can still see the distorted gravity in places, and as someone has said already, people turning into freaks. (but the freaks do have conscience, and they did recognized the mask of the traveler, and helped him find the city, so maybe being a freak isnt so much of a different creature, just a mutated human)

[@sidlevon6047]

hello

[@listless2725]

man, when you said that autodale was a machine, you weren’t kidding. we forgot that machines need fuel.

[@orlaneago9054]

AKA the imperfect citizens?

[@PuffyLandGirl03]

aka the immortal time machine

[@timtheguy2179]

Holy crap That’s good

[@biboi3351]

Autodale is hardly automatic

[@psyc8407]

Another dash of fridge horror. Autodale is essentially acting as a self-perpetuating machine, something that provides itself with it’s own energy to run. These are usually impossible to make due to things like energy loss from friction, overheating, and denaturalization of the fuel. Autodale is going to fall at some point, and all of the mayor’s and Hive’s work will be for nothing.

[@mrred6969]

She can run with high heels on, she is a soldier.

[@persistentapparartionkitty5830]

They say only 5% of Navy Seal applicants pass the running in high heels test.

[@jonathanche6553]

Up there with Claire from Jurassic World. Rexy ain’t never chased something like that before

[@Maber610]

Agent 8

[@dolly8714]

i dont know why when i was like 10-14 it was easy to walk and even slightly run on heels. now that im 17 its literaly impossible. probably because i gained weight and cant properly balance myself

[@lisakanzira6765]

A serious trooper.

[@amygdata]

"Autodale is hardly automatic. You and your families are the gears that keep our engines turning and turning."

[@liamdk9625]

And as of now we know that they are more like the WD40 that keeps their gears turning

[@rajinicant7913]

Literally...

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

Everyone has a place and purpose in Autodale..

[@xunk16]

@@liamdk9625 Gears that lubricate gears... Gearsception!

[@TheBonesMalone]

@@xunk16 the mechanicus would be horrified

[@AH64ApacheHelicopter]

I like to think the reason the Mayor pauses mid-sentence is because he’s dying, but the electric charges are somehow bringing him back every few seconds.

[@VivianaSilverback]

I like this theory-

[@WorstLandsknechtEver]

Cool idea

[@alicorn3924]

like the one in the TF2 comics?

[@rostastepanek5542]

From the moment ive understood the weakness of my flesh...

[@extra_ram_noodles]

@@rostastepanek5542 it disgusted me..

[@stavzeevi]

The mayor is a sad, sad character. He seemed so hopeful when he found the exceptional girl, probably hoped that someone who could see through the lies could help him find another path, figure out some other way to keep the goddess alive. It seemed like he was hoping the horrors that fuel autodale would be repulsive to the exceptional girl, that she’d try to push for another way to live... but she accepted it as the truth, as the only way to survive, and the mayor was... disappointed. He probably feels that there is no other way to live, and the exceptional girl just helped confirm his deepest fears. That he’d have to be the monster in the shadows as long as the immortal machine lived. Forever killing just so that it’s heart may continue to beat.

[@maxpower9546]

THIS. The Mayor was trying the typical "you could find another way where I could not" but isntad she just made what was already there more efficient. A really nice twist on that trope.

[@microwavedricecake1554]

Honestly there should be more movies or books with this kind of plot, it be a new perspective to see a villian(?) Quit like halfway into his project/objective

[@firelight3806]

I wondered why the exceptional girl wanted to assimilate into the Mechanisms of Autodale which she despised. But your explanation is so in-depth. Everything leading up to this moment in time in Autodale was a battle for morality for the Mayor. A tough choice after another in a desperate attempt to save humanity.

[@aubreyackermann8432]

@@firelight3806 what other live could she live? She can't go back, the tower is the only place where she's felt safe. Where she's felt she actually mattered. Between the two, there was no choice.

[@Uniformtree000]

What brings me sadness, is that, it is simply their time, the eternal truth for everything that lives and lived, is that death comes for all of us. Even for the embodiment of nature, however, even with the mayor, and the goddess became ageless. They still tire, they do not see color normally anymore. How long will it be. Before they become blind, before they cannot see more answers? However, there is hope, not for humanity. But for future races, humanites successors, if they create the seeds for future nature goddesses. Create constructs that give the successors, and those whom came after, the boost to fly further. And for the current living to rest in the ground, fade into dust. As all things should eventually.

[@DeadSound]

This was one of the most challenging projects I've ever attempted. It was a nearly incomprehensible amount of work. This is a story I've wanted to tell for years and finally felt I had the artistic and technical know-how to pull it off! Really hope you guys like it. :D If you're interested, here's the making-of video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o56xq36DgqqAm7c

[@debarpandutta6722]

I really am first

[@desmond1751]

I like it! Don’t work yourself too hard tho!

[@debarpandutta6722]

Huh

[@Tomas_2555]

I am very early wow

[@mattblaster2378]

Thanks for making this

[@ohworm3441]

This short clears up so many things that bothered me in other shorts. Like, how and why the main character in Don’t Feed The Freaks saw himself as human. It’s because the Freaks probably ARE human, affected by the sickness that caused them to mutate. Or why Hive let Shadow save the little girl, in Friendly Shadow. Because she knew that she would die either way, whether to feed the goddess, or from the sickness outside.

[@Emerald__Ace]

It could also be that The Freaks are sentient beings unrelated to humans that came around after Autodale was created. They have adapted to live outside and over time they got smarter. The children of both sides don't know any better so they can get along like in Don't Feed the Freaks. Chances are that the Mayor doesn't know exactly what The Friendly Shadow does because he reports to The Hive who want the cycle to keep going while the mayor is trying to find a solution for the cycle to end.

[@ACasualObsession]

@@dragensen2348 quick note, the phrase is actually "scapegoat" not "escape goat".

[@pyropegasus3484]

​@@ACasualObsession Welll, escape goat does sound like it would make sense if you think about it lol (you're completely right tho)

[@alfredatanda660]

@@Emerald__Ace the mayor does not report to the hive tho, the exeptional girl was the leader of hive meaning the hive took control of autodale many years later

[@codyjohnson6427]

Yea that's what I think. The mayor looks kind of like those freaks, so maybe the sickness turns humans into that "freak-like" creature, and overtime the surviving freaks evolved to be what they look like now

[@lordisen4668]

What I love the most about the Mayor’s voice is actually the pauses in his speech pattern. You can feel the conflict and contemplation within him as he decides which words to use next, as well as the fact he clearly hasn’t interacted with many other people in a long time and natural speech no longer comes easy too him. It’s a brilliant way of conveying so much information through silence.

[@rydertheapple843]

He sounds like darth vader ngl

[@I_am_a_furry_now]

He reminded me of G-man in the way he spoke

[@b_cake109]

he sounds like barack obama

[@sdoo-ou2ni]

It's also a dying art

[@beefybois4u288]

"Dystopian Fantasy." "Realistic Reality." Ties, between, bring them.

[@boxhunter9742]

this kind of reminds me of Warhammer 40k Were the half dead corps of the emperor of man kind has to consume 1000 souls a day to stay alive so the astronomicon (which grants ships the power to go through the warp) can stay functional thus society can still function day to day.

[@auugh43546]

@@boxhunter9742 40k is what happens when a giant fucking god-like person meets autodale, aliens, demons, and super-hell

[@boxhunter9742]

@@auugh43546 Don't forget the orks there my favourite faction after all

[@auugh43546]

@@boxhunter9742 the orks would probably fight, die, but leave spores behind thus making even more waagh in autodale

[@mistadude]

@Tim Ketchopulos hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha very funny

[@vinnamon]

I find it genuinely sad how upset the mayor is about the decisions he has to make. He doesn't want to hurt people, but he finds its the only way to keep the majority alive. He wanted the girl to help him, help the people that lived in the city, but instead she just admired the horrible "work" he had done.

[@IceGoldDev]

Is he keeping the majority alive? or is he sacrificing the majority of "ugly ones" for the minority of "pretty ones"?

[@vinnamon]

@@IceGoldDev either it could be that maybe he doesn't need as much sympathy as I gave him, or it could be that only certain people work as good fuel? Or it's his way of getting order so he can farm them off?? Idk tbh

[@ADAJ342]

@@vinnamon ,probably the godess needs a blood sacrifice to stay up and running,it is just more efficient to turn old and sick people into fuel.

[@santiagocortez9554]

He's just another hitler tbh....

[@wnsctt2]

@@santiagocortez9554 Idk about that. He made a livable city from barren wastelands with the help of a goddess. It's not like humanity would be better off if he didn;t do what he did. At least they have a house, food, and safety... until they die because they become less productive.

[@whiteside.mp3]

From what I’ve got: - The world was plagued with a deadly sickness and became a wasteland - An inventor and his daughter had it, but a goddess cured his daughter - The goddess died and he decided to capture her and make her energy run throughout the wasteland to make and keep it alive, he also did the same on himself by hooking himself up to her, making him immortal - He created a town and killed people who were deemed “Ugly” by the system to keep the Goddess/Matriarch alive - A woman figured out the city was a dystopian society and that something was wrong and tried to run away but was captured by the mayor, who explained everything to her - She became fascinated with it all and decided to help him run the city as the first Hive, every exceptional person after her was turned into a Hive too, making the Hive be made out of the smartest thinkers in the city Basically, the mayor has good intentions but in order to save his home, he has to make this dystopian, corrupted society full of lies. In my opinion, this is the best way the story could have been done. David, if you’re reading this, good job! EDIT: I saw a reply saying that the Mayor looks more like the Goddess before she became the Matriarch while the Matriarch looks more like a human now, I think they were suggesting that their DNA was transferred between each other when the Mayor hooked himself up to her which I think is a pretty solid theory, so I’m adding it here!

[@wertpoo7215]

Seems about right

[@ExtraBurntToast]

The girl looks similar to the protagonist of merry madness so maybe they are connected

[@ImperialVideo]

The hive reminds me very much of Psycho-Pass and the brains that run the Sibyl system.

[@axisrogue]

But what about the freaks...?

[@keiranferrier3642]

Yeah, you can even see their facial features kind of switch because before, the goddess has very sharp cheekbones, lanky limbs and no mouth or nose and now those features have all been switched over to the mayor, while she looks more human now

[@immagical7036]

I love how The Mayor’s form has come to reflect how The Matriarch used to look. And how she now looks nearly human.

[@tortis6342]

Yep, I noticed the same thing.

[@immagical7036]

@@tortis6342 Yiss!!

[@frostbyte2384]

I have a theory about that, based around the idea that “you are what you eat”. The Mayor has been feeding off The Matriarch’s energy for centuries, perhaps even millennia and it is possible some traits passed over. Likewise, The Matriarch has been feeding off gallons upon gallons of liquified humans (not just blood, we saw the veins). Assuming the branch-like protrusions we saw was not just for artistic style, The Matriarch may have some adaptive ability based on what it consumes. This would make sense as that would let it gain the best traits to survive because whatever was most plentiful would be the best at surviving. However in this case the presence of only human DNA in what it consumes means that human traits would be highly represented in The Matriarch’s structure. TLDR for The Matriarch, it likely adapts from what it eats to survive better and it has been “eating” lots of evolved monkey.

[@immagical7036]

@@frostbyte2384 that makes a whole lotta sense!! Thx man

[@thorveim1174]

@@frostbyte2384 In the extra making of video, dead sound states that the creatures like the godess end up physically reflecting their environment as a trait of their specie. So it has nothing to do with being fed humans, its just the result of having spent so long surrounded by machinery and humans.

[@SpoopyChicken]

The mayor never wanted to do the things he's done. He didn't want to participate in the massacres of the uglies, he didn't want to lie or deceive anyone, but he had to. He never chose to be the bad guy in all of this, in any of this... But he understood that he didn't have a choice in the matter. He knew that the death of a god would mean the end of all that remains of humanity, he knew that the only option that was left was to run this dystopia and watch the pain and suffering he's caused or to die and let the rest of the world die with him. The mayor hates what he's done, the mayor hates the mass killings of the people of Autodale, the mayor hates the atrocities he's committed and the mayor hates himself. We can see that he wants to be hated, he wanted the only other person in Autodale that knows the truth to hate him, he wanted to be hated by her, to be called out and told how disgusting and despicable his actions were. but in the end, after knowing the full truth, she instead agreed with him...

[@pcrassen4975]

And that's the interesting thing. She describes his reaction as "disappointment". So your take is absolutely right I think. He WANTED her to hate him. But to his disappointment she agreed with him. And she even started admiring him. My question rn is... what now? Like I'm really curious where things will go. Apparently it's not safe outside of Autodale. Not because of the monsters, but because of a disease. But the only time we've seen colour was when the little girl escaped outside of autodale and it felt hopeful. Is the Mayor protecting people when the protection isn't needed anymore? Is the goddess running out of her life? Does she need more and more sacrifices to keep her alive? Also... what happens after this. How did the exceptional girl become the first of Hive? Did she do it to herself? Did she ask the Mayor? What about the rest of the hive?

[@thatrandomrobot]

What is curious is... that's not entirely true. He doesn't need to keep the god alive. Think it more as keeping a society's lifestyle. An outdated lifestyle, since we have seen that life is possible outside. A different life, yes, but not a bad one. That's the whole point of the monsters. Change is possible. But trying to cling to our past, SACRIFYING generation after generation for that goal, not actually adapting to the everchanging world... its not just horrifying, it's wrong.

[@Mr.Bimgus]

@@pcrassen4975 We actually already know the answer to that. In some of his The Making Of videos, he explained that the mayor turned the exceptional girl into Hive to help him run the city. She was the first person integrated into Hive, which is why every exceptional person who was integrated into Hive after her still has her voice. Though I'm assuming we will get more in depth reasoning behind it in The Making Of videos for this, when they come out.

[@rohankishibe6433]

@@pcrassen4975 this is long winded and about my theory about automate. The godess is linked to nature, and after humanity trashed the ecosystem with garbage and pollution, the godess became worse. The godess couldn't protect nature. Her own powers began to become corrupt. The world became the hellscape that is seen in the mayor's story. After autodale saved the goddess, she became better, but still corrupt. The disease vanished over time, but the godess' corruption ment that the rules of nature no longer existed. The world became better, but not less weird. They sacrifice towards the godess because she cannot heal from nature, as she is trapped in the tower. It is not safe out there. But only because the godess is traped here. There are no monsters out there. Only in autodale. Edit: please do not mind my garbage grammar

[@MichaelBW-bn9gf]

@@rohankishibe6433 I like your theory but I have another idea maybe the death of these gods and goddesses is just part of a cycle like spring and winter The best example I can give is the druidic concept of the mother nature and the male aspect the horned one who dies and reborn as the seasons occur while the world itself is eternal. And maybe it's just humanities obsession with trying to control nature end up being long lived enough to see the cycle occur that we think it's a one-of-a-kind problem that needs fixing and not a natural occurrence that has its own counters and fixes because there's another guy in this common thread pointed out when the little girl in the young monster made it out of the city the world seemed perfectly fine and as he's explained it is making a videos this has been going on for God knows how long so maybe is one of you guys pointed out the resets already happened and they're just lagging behind due to the fact that they don't know or can't accept what's really going on and it's just a fact of life that's out of their control.

[@TSGAris]

Due to the goddess change in appearance, I think that the more human smoothie she ingests, the more human she becomes.

[@d.g.b.nugget8446]

The major becomes more like the goddess by look though too

[@alifelessrock48]

I believe eventually the goddess won't be able to support humanity when she becomes too human

[@Buttergoat1]

im sorry but i have to laugh at the word "human smoothie" but thats a very logical theory

[@TSGAris]

I wonder if MatPat will do a theoy on this.

[@alifelessrock48]

@@TSGAris lol someone needs to bring it to his attention

[@zephyrcentauri]

how does Autodale not hear the howls of the Matriarch? is it just like "mummy, i hear scary noises sometimes" "oh dont worry sweetie, it's just the wind"

[@sivellaxd5308]

Definitely just the song of the city... Dw ull learn to love it too sweety.

[@Fisinocean]

Okay but if you see it from some perspective its kinda pretty? If you dont know where it come from

[@Unit-3475]

Thick walls.

[@DTKara]

The tower may be soundproof 🤷‍♀️

[@spiffygonzales5899]

1. Soundproof tower 2. Noise you hear could just be from girls perspective. 3. "There are no monsters here"

[@WalkingNowhere]

I actually feel so bad for the mayor. He hates what he's created, but considers it the best option that they have.

[@drivethruv]

It is shown in previous chapter (video) that a kid (girl) and monster like creature runs away from autodale in outside world and sees that outside world is healed !!

[@OniyunYun]

@@drivethruvor they’re both dead and ended up in heaven 😊

[@Aquanians]

@@OniyunYunIf they're dead, then why is shadow getting in trouble?

[@ivanlol7153]

@@OniyunYun except they're not, we see in "Don't Feed the Freaks" that people outside the city can live just fine

[@olgasokolova5289]

Honestly I like that little detail where the goddess "transferred" her power to the "daughter" of the Inventor in tern giving up her life. The goddess is dead, her body was used to figure out how it ticked, and the Inventor tried and succeeded in artificially making a new goddess. Most likely he created the city and after finding out the flaw in his Immortal Machine he crated the Autodale structure. Unfortunately he was still riddled with sickness and it took toll fast, his flesh rotting off, his organs failing, he hooked himself to the Immortal Machine to buy himself some time. And then he found her, the Exceptional Girl, hoping that she would understand the atrocities of his choices she could find a different way with less bloodshed, she didn't, now as part of the Hive the Exceptional Girl is remembering him now that he's probably ran out of borrowed time. And we still decided to think that the wooden magical creature is the Immortal Machine, fun times :D edit: as of 05/02/2021 it has been confirmed that my theory isn't entirely correct, it was fun to imagine that it was, but now there are more questions that are yet to be answered. What happened to the Inventor's Daughter?

[@amyroderson9413]

thank you! I couldn't tell the plot very well but I like the series. He's very convuluded with his story telling but I love it.

[@TheRealInscrutable]

I don't think it's an artificial goddess, I think he revivified her using the same technology that was keeping him alive. The tires didn't transfer her power, she used her power to heal the child and it (nearly?) ended her.

[@maciejmazur2622]

What if the Immortal machine is actually Mayors daughter as she was "infused" with the power of the godess? Nothing there to confirm it, but possible for a massive plot twist in the future

[@giorgio7360]

Thanks for the explanation!! I wasn't understanding anything 😂😂. Ok, so now the excepcional girl has sacrificed herself to join the Major's daughter suffering, no?

[@samuelwoodouse4482]

that doesnt explain the other cities. i think its all a lie

[@nngb3206]

This is... just sad. Demented, twisted. And it’s a masterpiece.

[@yourdadscat3182]

Indeed :)

[@pikelboi9674]

“This is horrific and terrifying FUCK YEAH”

[@izzahbelle8582]

if my nightmares looked like this id never wake up

[@fangamer2206]

Indeed.

[@thatamericanloser2833]

No, just a masterpiece.

[@Haloguy7]

It really tops it off that you used your own voice for the mayor. The mayor, the one who created it all, is voiced by the one who literally created it all. A subtle, but very nice addition.

[@sinaelb2596]

I was really happy to hear that he voiced the mayor too even after he said he was worried that all the men sound the same. They really don't because of the great voice acting.

[@ErlkingHeathcliff69]

So the mayor is literally god in autodale and not the goddess?

[@sinaelb2596]

@@ErlkingHeathcliff69 Nah the godess is litterally a god. But it does seem like it was the mayor who created and controlls autodail.

[@ErlkingHeathcliff69]

@@sinaelb2596 makes sense but i feel like in the way that the mayor created [kindof]life in a bren world hes technicallly a god right?

[@diakounknown1225]

Yeah, it makes everything feel like it is one object. One machine. The lack of voices actually helps sell the Machine-like nature of autodale.

[@Spectralyzed]

I just realized why there are so many fallen cities with dead monarchs. Autodale was the first; the Mayor was the only one who was able to find a way to both use its power to keep the city alive, while also keeping _it_ alive. All the other cities tried to replicate it, but they failed. Maybe they didn't make the necessary sacrifices, maybe they didn't have the technology to do so. Who knows. But Autodale was the first, and probably the last.

[@stoneforest2639]

"This is kindness" holy fuck i have chills Edit: why the fuck do I have so many likes. They mayor’s eyes are so kind yes lifeless. The sounds he makes when he walks are disgusting.

[@bumblebee2372]

How the hell have I got 1.2k likes in 2 hours. That’s crazy my dude!

[@lolsy8799]

She was the first to be incorporated into the hive, she was the first to look past the mirage. Seeing how exceptional she was, the Mayor decided to show her the mechanisms of Autodale, both to get a new perspective and maybe to relive himself of some of the sins, and when she showed interest and understood that what the mayor was doing was to the benefit of the people, she was turned into the first Hive, to continue aiding the city.

[@randomuno2562]

Or perhaps, it was to have a hive mind to think of another way to survive. He did seem quite regretful of the fact he had to do what he did

[@hithere3094]

True, but I also feel he hoped she would be repulsed. He maybe hoped that she would help him find another way to keep the goddess alive. But she didn't. She became hive.

[@lolsy8799]

I think so too, maybe that's why we don't hear of him in the current Autodale? Maybe he and the Hive disagreed on how Autodale should be governed, and hive disposed of him?

[@hithere3094]

@@lolsy8799 I don't think she disposed of him, but maybe undermined his position?

[@lolsy8799]

That does sound more likely, i was just thinking of how he looked disappointed when she was ine awe of his work. He seemed like he genuinely wanted to help everyone, and the sins of all the horrible things he had to commit for the survival of the human race really hurt his soul. I think like many others have commented, that he wished for her to be repulsed and disgusted, and for her to find an other way to keep everyone alive. But instead she was in awe of his work, and I think maybe down the line the mayor will either give up hope, his spirit too far down, or she will as you say overmind him and take more control. Either way, Hive will continue what the mayor started.

[@mikomikokomi]

I feel bad for the goddess. You can tell they just wanted to help but ended up having to suck up human juice and be in pain because of it.

[@ADAJ342]

Same with the mayor, it's pretty clear cut that they’re doing this not because they want to but because the other option is the end of humanity.

[@glyphiize8198]

@@ADAJ342 then why couldn’t they just fucking end humanity instead of suffering, and actually not enjoy life, there is no life when you suffer to make others alive and “safe”. There is no humanity when it is a cycle of pain and suffering, these mfs crazy using the goddess as a source and make her suffer especially the mayor himself

[@Mandemon1990]

@@glyphiize8198 So you think you have right to decide to for all humans that they shall die? Mayor wished to save those who he loved, to give some resemblence of happiness to people. He has succeeded, at great cost, and he is still looking for a better way.

[@glyphiize8198]

@@Mandemon1990 I rather have us go extinct than build a system where these humans never experienced the life we have today. The fuck? Of course Major wished to save the one he loves, these people have a cycle where they assume their death is normal. They have no freedom, but to play a cycle of "life". What do you mean he has succeeded, Major hates his doing, the goddess is suffering herself fed by blood after they die, it's literally a cycle. How is that life?

[@Mandemon1990]

@@glyphiize8198 And to people living in that system, they are happy. They fall in love. They have children. And unlike us, who go into death fearful and afraid of everything, they go to death content, knowing they did correct thing. It is not the best life there, but for people living in it, it is best they cna see. They do not have hunger, poverty, racism. They do not have violent riots or corrupt governments. They have good life. And, as I have pointed out repeatedly, Mayor and Hive are looking for an alternative, a way to break out of the cycle, without condeming everyone into painful and slow death.

[@MonsterUnderYourBed.]

Something tells me that the Goddess is actually glad that she can help and she is grateful for keeping her alive. When the Mayor touches her nose and talks, she has a faint smile on her lips

[@frogfrog725]

Him: "thank you so much for watching" Me: no sir, thank YOU for making it

[@kainmit2894]

Yep

[@hchich2528]

It's fucking terrifying that the only “color” in these animations is _R E D_

[@fyraltari1889]

There was yellow at the end of _Friendly Shadow_

[@ctrl_x1770]

Technically color is only a thing made up in our min- *cough*

[@abdelkhalekrahaoui5635]

@@ctrl_x1770 it’s not just our mind and eyes allow us to see it

[@abdelkhalekrahaoui5635]

@@fyraltari1889 yes but that was outside of auto dale when outside of auto dale there is some color

[@AK-Drakoin]

Before autodale there was yellow, brown, and orange But now there is only reds and greyscale

[@alfredoakalilsavage1661]

"You really admire him, don't you?" "Just admiration? Seems like a little more than admiration, honestly." "How tragic." "Tell us what you haven't been telling him." The way they all go at her as she tells her story is so realistic and creepy at the same time.

[@bopiiq8947]

Ohh

[@RequiemPoete]

The creepiest part is how it sounds like scandalized aristocrats gossiping over tea.

[@K4ntoe]

Or Emma Stone?...

[@eldermillennial8330]

@@RequiemPoete Forgot to make sure his “gifted ones” would have the same kind of vigorous ethical philosophy he developed growing up.

[@russianbluecat9065]

I think the food hurts the goddess because she was never meant to consume human matter. She is benevolent to humans and their only hope of survival; however, her previous source of sustenance disappeared, causing her to get to the sorry state she was at in pre-Autodale times. Hopefully y'all get what I mean. Just a thought, though.

[@pancakes8670]

Yeah this definitely isn't something that was meant to happen. However, somehow the Mayor discovered that pumping human juice into the Goddess keeps her (and be extension the town) alive. So in his mind it has to be done, even if it violates the laws of nature.

[@Mx.muffin]

The goddess when we first see her in her original form looks to me like she was supposed to photosynthesize, as we see branches on her and she was wood-like. Also, she was described as a withering goddess, withering is usually associated with plants. This might actually also symbolize that she used to have a more pure purpose (since photosynthesizing doesn't do any harm to anyone), but now has a more gruesome purpose (since she is eating? drinking? human blood). I could be overstepping it on the symbolizing part tho.

[@kennedydebree1042]

Every living thing has to consume energy to survive. Whatever caused the sickness, the Wilting, disrupted all natural systems it seems and the god-creatures were starving. That goddess-thing obviously used up the last of its energy to save the little girl and whatever humans the mayor brought to her. He found a way to feed her in exchange for protection, for healing. I just hope we get to see more of the beginning of this while thing. And maybe the end of it.

[@Eggstrawdinnery]

@@Mx.muffin it was a "wilting" goddess to save them from their "withering" world. idk what wilting means tho

[@memehamsterr]

@@Eggstrawdinnery wilting is also used to describe plants drooping / limp

[@StapledArt]

“I began to find it all really, rather... impressive.” Oooooh chills

[@lillizarddude5152]

Exactly😅

[@hyenasloan8443]

Right! I thought she’d say amusing but the impressive was a nice twist

[@ziadtarek952]

To be fair, creating a city almost out of nothing, maintaining it, being ready to Do neccesary sacrifice, living this long without (completely) losing your mind... I mean yeah, it is actually impressive

[@Adddmeeeeh]

I loved that red is the only “color” we see. Just like how their lives are black and white and the robots have no emotion, there is no “color” so we see how it truly is

[@SaltedFlake]

Seeing as red is mostly used as blood in this series, you could say that it reveals most of the truth. That Autodale may seem like a safe and happy place. But the truth is even the safest places have bloodshed. Despite finding out the truth the lack of color still shows that Autodale is shrouded in mystery and we've just figured out half of the truth after watching all the current episodes. So we all know there's more to it than what we see now which hopefully we'll find out in future episodes.

[@thegummychair1613]

@@SaltedFlake That’s definitely a new interpretation. I always assumed the red, and color that exists outside/before the city, represents how the bad is what makes life colorful. In a world where everyone is pretty and everything is perfect, everything blends into a grayscale mush. But with struggle and pain, she appreciates everything just a little bit more.

[@nightcon3180]

The bit of yellowish in the past sence Am I a joke to you

[@pancakes8670]

Everyone's talking about the Mayor but no ones mentioning how remarkably human Hive still sounds. I mean thousands of years stuck immobile in a room with hundreds of other people with your voice, and they still bicker and gossip about the Exceptional Girl having romanting feelings for the Mayor Edit years later: That's what I love about this series. The Human elements overcoming the bleakness of the world it exists in. HIVE is a nightmare tyrant that commits like 400 atrocities every day, and yet still bickers about having romantic feelings for the Mayor. The Mayor is a sad recluse who's hiding from the monster he creater, and yet the guilt and regret he feels is still human, his robots will never regret the things they do. The Friendly Shadow sparing the Freak, the little girl escaping the town, etc. Very small victories, but they shine a lot brighter.

[@daddyyahweh9328]

I mean honestly though, it's the most realistic part of this dystopia.

[@bibrook6393]

Promise never land?

[@amile3643]

One thing about Hive though that I'm yet to find rhyme or reason for... they all have identical splits in their eyebrows. Part of the process of stripping their brains and vitals?

[@teacupper]

Ikr?? They're like ladies constantly spilling the tea at 2 pm

[@thedragonofyeett]

There probably isn't that much else to talk about

[@alexnikopou9194]

This needs to be made into a full movie, that hopefully provides an explanation as to why the world outside AutoDale is so sick.

[@ozgurruh2535]

Wacth the making of vids it was a plague by the way

[@mariuscatalin5982]

There is lore of that already

[@Karambolage17]

@@mariuscatalin5982 where can i read it?

[@SoupyMittens]

@@mariuscatalin5982 how do I find it

[@mariuscatalin5982]

@@SoupyMittens on his channel basically but on short humanity grew too much and destroyed nature

[@annemeownie]

What I find chilling most of all about this is the fact that even if the actions done to the people are vile, we ended up understanding why the mayor did what he had to do..

[@awebtoonreader4979]

Yes! Absolutely mind blowing how amazing this all is!

[@ggt47]

Ehh..

[@TheCart54321]

At first it's a montrocity Then you realize....it's a cruel necessity

[@kevinthiago413]

@@TheCart54321 maybe just like our own world, a cruel and pointless fight to keep existing, a last struggle...

[@thegrimrealityofficial]

And then there's the people who weren't disgusted with it at all because it's better than today's society in any country

[@aristoumeehan4076]

This is so beautifully and hauntingly animated, and the whole world building is so creative and original

[@prosperosmoon]

Ikr- like who thinks of this??? I swear he is one of the most creative, original, talented creators here on KZbin.

[@joeyslayer1238]

Yea

[@pinkiepurplez]

A mystery that I cant guess through any arc.

[@utopes]

This is a story I’ve been waiting to hear for a while ngl

[@phantom765]

That right there was worth all the wait a beautiful creepy haunting animation that was worth all of the wait. Looking forward for the next one.

[@irishawthorne7784]

This is honestly the best dystopia I’ve ever witnessed. It’s not a society that has fallen out of greed, malice, or pride. Just one hard choice after another. An absolute masterpiece I hope you give yourself a little bit of time to celebrate what you’ve accomplished so far, David!

[@marsjanskimaszynista4626]

Ever heard of a Warhammer 40k?

[@irishawthorne7784]

@@marsjanskimaszynista4626 you mean the rpg system?

[@kerbonaut2059]

@@marsjanskimaszynista4626 woah, the Emperor does parallel the blood sacrifices here. ALL HAIL

[@utopes]

Seconding ^

[@marsjanskimaszynista4626]

@@irishawthorne7784 WH 40k is a wide universe that includes many games and books. I think this is the best summary kzbin.info/www/bejne/maqXdH1qe5KYpqM

[@emperorrevan6992]

In a sea of dystopian society stories with an autocratic/oligarchic leaderships system with those at the top espousing the necessity of their evil actions and would defend those actions to their dying breath… to find one who actually hates the actions he’s taken and honestly wants a better alternative is a breath of fresh air. Honestly, the Mayor just became my favorite character simply on the nuance with his writing. He’s not some mustache twirling dictator who says “I did what I had to, but I don’t care if it’s evil and I seem to enjoy doing it” but instead a broken man who “did what he had to” and he dreams of someone making a better way he seems incapable of seeing.

[@bryanemilius1606]

He does the unspeakable, because the only other choice is so much worse

[@sgg3586]

Theory Time: So going back to "Don't Feed The Monsters" and seeing all the other cities/towns and dead gods/goddesses, I am convinced that the Mayor might have been lying to the exceptional woman even then. Because his story implies that Autodale was his first/only creation, as he mentions the Goddess being the last of her kind. But obviously, this is not true. This makes me now wonder if Autodale was simply his final attempt, and that being the last place for humanity to survive he is more desperate for it to succeed. Because in the other ruined places we could see that the gods hooked up to the machines had literally torn themselves free and attempted to drag themselves away in desperation. So perhaps he manipulated the "exceptional" woman into becoming a part of Autodale to simply create a tighter security system in a sense. Meanwhile, the "monsters" outside the city are merely the evolved remnants of humanity that simply adapted to this new world. Creating this scenario where perhaps (unfortunately) humanity simply needs to let itself die so that something new can prosper. Or who knows, perhaps the plague that originally was killing humans has ended after (possibly) a few hundred years. Nobody has ever actually made it outside of Autodale, so maybe this entire town is simply a redundant hell that is trapped in a cycle of its own perpetually created lies. Heck, perhaps the "monsters" are what humans outside the cities turn into (meaning that if Autodale broke its own cycle, then humanity wouldn't be lost after all).

[@KikogamerJ2]

Maybe he wasn't lying there are just other cities build by other nations and the disease created by a War

[@fenixmartin854]

He did say most of the scenes of "don't feed the monster" that most of it is a prototype and he has no plans while making that video except but dump most of his ideas and metaphor of his childhood days

[@artemis_smith]

Minor correction: Autodale is thousands of years old. If there's any truth to the Mayor's story, it happened hundreds of years before the Exceptional Girl became Hive. By the time of the events of "The Friendly Shadow," Autodale has been going for untold thousands of years.

[@janaterbio8010]

I'd like to contradict because once Hive took over Autodale, a citizen did escaped. The same girl from "Don't Feed The Freaks".

[@erickamakeeaina1649]

400th like That is a good theory, him trying to seem more sympathetic could explain the immense bigotry in Autodale wich seems to contradict his characterization here

[@getalife5650]

I swear everyone turns into literature analysts when Dead Sound comes out with a new film😂

[@scottmcdonald6201]

I honestly appreciate it. Sometimes their comments are pretty insightful

[@videosyouweresearchingfor6126]

There is this thing called critique and it is incredibly important for generating new material

[@brianbertram4198]

Idk maybe not literature analysts, but maybe the type of video is what attracts followers like that. I think maybe anyone here likes to throw in their 2 cents into what they think things mean. I enjoy reading some of them.

[@getalife5650]

@@brianbertram4198 yeah i do too!

[@declandewolfe5225]

Fr like most of the time, I talk like this but on these videos I’m all “It really shows the grand effect that musical scores have on cinema; mid-range classical music can truly enhance any displayed or hinted emotions in any given scene...” an shit like tha

[@Tarathathe77wookiee]

I have a question: The Men "Go to Work" so what is their job? Are they in a factory, turning the dead into food? Do they realize the grim truth? Do the kids go to a school?

[@makaya3833]

OMG IVE NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT!

[@jmzlolo]

The kids are probably just constantly taught how to become part of the ideal family

[@IzzyRoseDoesArt]

I think the men have fairly normal jobs. I mean, unless the robots do everything, someone has to make the cars they drive, the food they eat, etc. I think the robots would handle the behind the scenes crazy shit, and the people would do the stuff like manufacturing everyday items.

[@mathapelo4781]

@@IzzyRoseDoesArt totally agree

[@decentlysmartforanidiot8284]

@@IzzyRoseDoesArt or they just step out the door and just stand AFK until its time to "come home" that would be pretty creepy

[@rxla-3884]

I think the fact that the goddess was able to cure the little girl with that spark is really interesting. Back in “Don’t feed the freaks”, we see the fallen matriarchs who all look like they’re in some type of pain. What if, with their dying energy, they released some form of that same spark that would ensure the survival of life around it? Except, instead of a singular spark, it was some wave of energy that simultaneously granted immunity to the withering whilst also physically mutating humans in the vicinity. That could explain why “freaks” are able to reproduce and also have children who are immune. It could also possibly explain why the freaks aren’t that prominent of an issue until later in the years (presumably, as matriarchs began falling). Biological ecosystems are seen to be thriving in some areas- the wave of energy might have provided plants immunity too and allowed them to spread their seeds into the wider landscape. In this sense, perhaps the mayor’s actions were not in vain. His invention meant the survival of the next few generations of humans- one of which would bear witness to a new age of survival.

[@Araknisdeathicos]

So far this is my working theory which is somewhat inspired by yours. Some disaster or series of disasters occured that resulted in weird gravity along with a disease that kills everything and has no practical cure. So the people of this world turn to these "gods". They release that huge amount of energy or use up all of their energy without blood to power them and create the freaks as a byproduct. Where my theory differs is that when the character in "don't feed the freaks" gets scratched on the cheek, he probably got infected by whatever the freaks have, turning him into one. This would explain his lack of sleep as the freaks seem to be somewhat tireless and it also would make sense along with the fact that there is an adolescent freak in "friendly shadow" with no other parent besides the one. This leads me to believe that a child became infected and turned into a freak. Which explains why that one seems to have developed habits of a human child like drawing.

[@Astro-ex5ye]

The freaks were revealed to be humans that other people perceive as monsters.

[@alpacaofthemountain8760]

@@Astro-ex5ye where?

[@zaBeheaded]

@@Astro-ex5ye that’s lame and where

[@BookofMourne]

​@@Astro-ex5yeI think it's more so that the Freaks view THEMSELVES as human, not the other way around

[@artwithalexander5359]

he's keeping all of them, even the goddess, alive but none of them are really living... no wonder he felt guilty and burdened. no wonder he wanted someone to understand at last and share both the burden and the guilt. not a love but a partner all the same, for clearly the goddess he saved loves him in return for both his love and sacrifice, but you have to wonder if she ever yearns for an ending? clearly the blood that sustains her also hurts her greatly.

[@whitemoonwolf13]

i'm reminded of the goddess from apostle. very similar concept, they fed her with blood and as a consequence life started to die or become twisted.

[@dinoko6363]

@@whitemoonwolf13 oh yeah, that’s a great comparison. even thought she was being kept alive, she yearned to die because she wasn’t living

[@swedishfish4232]

I’m glad that this isn’t t just a one time series. Stories that constantly expand on the world surrounding them are the best.

[@jpeg.600x2]

joes america

[@taza99]

Yeah

[@pyronator8691]

Yeah

[@toootdooot710]

@@pyronator8691 so it all started with a man with a dream

[@linccodes]

Like AOT

[@Purplesubmariner]

The tree deity is so much different looking than what is shown in the tower...and the way she seems to be in pain when she's being infused with the blood of the "model citizens" that have become "ugly". It seems that being infused with the blood of people, she's become more human in form herself.

[@keyboardcockatoo4567]

Good theory! I think another reason for her more human like appearance is because she was fused with the young girl she healed (the inventors daughter, maybe).

[@zitriphyer8429]

If that’s the case, does that mean her abilities diminish along with it?

[@Purplesubmariner]

@@zitriphyer8429 Possible, but we also see in "Don't feed the freaks", what appears two others outside of Autodale. The Traveler has a fire beside the outstretched hand from the upper torso of a dead one, and there was one bound in a broken tower at 0:39; and we see old Handymen husks in the ruins too. But that tower isn't Autodale, because that's where the masks lead him by the end. Perhaps the others were failed towns and experiments before Autodale's system was implemented?

[@zitriphyer8429]

@@Purplesubmariner so many mysteries in this series it’s quite fascinating. I would love to see this continue on still

[@collectorofmyst2107]

I believe her tree-like appearance was simply for the fairy tale aesthetic.

[@RatchelRach]

I like how you can kinda watch these in any order and still understand everything going on. You could watch this and friendly shadow and the previous episodes could be considered prequels. You could watch the series backwards and see how everything started and get context as you go. You could watch in a random order and still figure everything out.

[@legendkyd2474]

Yes

[@catcheek7761]

This is seriously one of the best dystopian stories I’ve ever seen! Comparing it to something like the Hunger Games in which Panem was born out of greed and spite, to Autodale where it was born out of necessity. The Mayor is such a interesting character. Because this exceptional girl has figured it all out, and yet he isn’t mad or brash towards her. He’s a kind soul that is extremely haunted by the decisions he’s had to make and the lives he’s taken weigh heavily on his mind. He knows it’s horribly wrong, yet he still does it but not out of malice. He isn’t angry and trying to control or get revenge on humans. He is trying his best with what he has. It’s very interesting from a philosophy standpoint. And I can’t wait to see more.

[@Mandemon1990]

Autodale feels like Imperium for Warhammer 40K. They know how horrific their actions are, but if they stop doing those things, the last light in the galaxy is snuffed out, ushering in eternal darkness. Much like Guileman feels disappointed and saddenedd how Empire is, Mayor feels disappointed and saddened. It feels like he *wants* the Exceptional Girl to hate him. To call him out, to call him monster, to justify his guilt. So he can defend himself, so to confirm that yes, he is still a moral being for understanding how horrible his things are. And yet, not does Exceptional Girl understand him, she does far worse than simply not judge him: she begins to admire him.

[@slithra227]

Well the hunger games is an elaborate critique of capitalism and the way those systems literally put people into hereditary social castes and drain the population of life for the sake of one caste. Autodale is an evolving study of propaganda and the cycles of a barely living state. It's not really fair to compare them because their goals are different

[@lordtoademort8124]

@@Mandemon1990 the warhammer comparison is very apt with the whole sacrificing thousands to a god to keep everybody alive

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

@@slithra227 I think that your half right. I think Catie compared the two *because* they are so different. And I agree with them. Autodale was not born out of any human failing (greed, lust, envy, pride, exc.), it was built out of a desire and a opportunity. And I think that's brilliant because it's founder became aware that he's made a dystopia, and it's quite the contrast to most mainstream dystopia stories out there.

[@SnizzyGaming]

I like how she’s not scared of this creepy ruler with his guts showing, freaky feet, and some skull mask looking thing

[@Ringohulk777]

I think his flesh is rotting off a bit

[@iknewit5678]

I mean its kinda cool looking tbf

[@arcadius6770]

Heh. That's not a mask

[@me0dy958]

@@iknewit5678 ikr he looks like a monster for like a game

[@austinjones1084]

@@me0dy958 i think he looks kind of like a freak from his other videos

[@kently4465]

*the first to finally see through the veil* bruh, that symbolism takes the cake

[@VitaNewbo]

But like.... She also wasn't the first member of the hive. So.... Was she really?

[@jfig3458]

@@VitaNewbo if I remember correctly, she is the first member of hive. The other exceptionals were probably labeled uglies and murdered.

[@maxpower9546]

@@VitaNewbo She IS the first member, she's literally narrating the story to the others.

[@generalratchet651]

​@@jfig3458 not really. Anyone who was found out to be Exceptional was assimilated into The Hive

[@marshmallows7453]

I just realized that this comment section is exactly what the mayor wanted from the girl. Suggestions and a new perspective, turned out to be disappointed because she was impressed.

[@amonrawya3064]

The mayor looks awfully similar to the Freaks, especially his legs....

[@RiceKurry]

Maybe that’s what happened to those who didn’t make it. That disease he and his daughter have, perhaps it slowly turns them into those creatures.

[@sonofliberty8872]

@@RiceKurry Exactly. His feet are still humanoid, but they are angled like the freaks.

[@Khrayfish]

@@RiceKurry One of videos confirms that the Freaks were former humans but it was unclear whether or not it was some sort of metaphorical depiction of outsiders or a genuine disease. This seems to confirm that it is a genuine disease.

[@mechahika]

@@RiceKurry Probably why one of the creatures can do art? even at that form? thats's insane

[@eliasar5051]

@@RiceKurry I don´t think its likely. After all we saw dead humans who died from disease, they were... withered, but still human-like looking.

[@ItsVeeVA]

his lungs and organs moving, every time he talks is such a neat little detail and I can't stress how much I love it

[@janaterbio8010]

One part that stuck out to me was the Goddess's design, because this design is very similar to Hive's previous illustration that David made which is absolutely brilliant. It just ties in together that perhaps the Hive looks so similar to the Goddess because she wanted to emulate the image of the Goddess that she saw. Also in the flashbacks while this may sound like a very simplistic observation, would it be wrong to speculate that the daughter/child the inventor was with looked very similar to the Goddess? Though that can be disputed considering that the child is probably the ancestor to the people of Autodale and the child has a very distinct trait of a beauty mark near her lips. This would also explain why the people of Autodale are used as fuels to keep the Goddess alive, because remember, before she did die, she healed the girl as some sort of last act of kindness. (And yes, perhaps this Goddess is Mother Nature from David's other short animation, considering they look the same or at least identical.) However the inventor didn't let her off and ended up using her as the heart of Autodale while the blood of the people acted as her fuel which results in this twisted, inhumane and like the Hive said, impressive cycle that kept this dystopian place alive and protected. The Mayor's current whereabouts are unknown but is probably somewhere in there, managing the robots and other gadgets that he has invented and continues to, Hive watches over Autodale in his stead and keeps it under control, Shadow is her subordinate and the one who interacts most with the citizens while the Goddess is the heart that supports everything you see in Autodale, even the Hive and Mayor who are connected to her and of course the role of the people as the fuel that keeps this heart alive, sustaining their ever perfect society. I have to hand it to you, this series is amazing and I can't wait to see more of what's to come of it! A masterpiece indeed! Thank you for the hardwork, David. Looking forward to more!

[@VinnyMartello]

Indeed. The dude is a mad genius.

[@boppertron4929]

I have to say that I doubt the Beacon is the original Mother of Nature. T seems as if the old world created several goddesses, which is implied by "last of her kind". Each of them were based off of the original Mother of Nature, who may have caused the withering of the world.

[@Jennagryphon]

I am glad someone else noticed that there where other towns, other than autodale, with there own trapped 'gods and goddesses'. We have very few of the pieces we need to put this puzzle togeather.

[@martonszilagyi7804]

Wow, I saw this after I wrote a wall of text too. Glad to see I wasn't wrong after all, had the same thoughts.

[@bella_daze3092]

YES

[@bencurran3204]

I love that I just discovered this and that it actually is an explained dystopia, not one just seeking to control, but more to protect at horrendous cost

[@ScuffedWarden]

Like Frostpunk's New London?

[@hoiitzel]

I’m pretty sure we’re all gonna have a marathon of the entire series when it’s finally complete.

[@retroflame3104]

I’m pretty sure this was the final episode.

[@rxseblue]

@@retroflame3104 I don't think so there's still the girl who escaped with one of the monsters

[@sleepydragon9510]

And the other goddess from the one where the boy made his way to town

[@taylorkiefer410]

Yes

[@vesselunknown7961]

It'll never end.

[@seventeen4094]

This series is more interesting and has more story than most reality shows.

[@poindexter25]

i mean most cinematic shows do

[@lisaart9179]

Whawawa girl in fashion show say me not good

[@ltphantomknight8942]

When has reality tv ever been good tho? It doesn't take much to outdo them

[@Sentient_Blob]

That’s an extraordinarily low bar

[@mandy5959]

You cannot even compare this to a reality show. It is too good to be compared with something like a reality show..

[@Pepsistar]

You know the mayor was more kinder and gentle than I expected him to be

[@ryancrowell2658]

He is the Mayor, after all.

[@generalkuros56]

The mayor rules with a heart of gold and a iron fist

[@darthkingares96]

@@ryancrowell2658 I see the reference here

[@sweethoneydew3000]

I showed my sister this series after I saw it, and she absolutely loved it!! We both hope this isn’t the end of Autodale, and that you’ll continue making this amazing story. Truly is a work of art.

[@mmacaroniandcheese5375]

I hope so too, but I think this project is sadly over :(

[@hbluemole6941]

He wants people to be exceptional! That's why instead of making people not talk about it he created a children's book about her

[@BlackCover95]

He didn’t. *She* did.

[@ManabiLT]

In the making of video about The Hive he did for the last video, he said that it was the Exceptional Girl, who was the first member of the hive, that made the children's book. It's literally her own story, made into a children's book.

[@hbluemole6941]

@@ManabiLT because she knows she isn't what he wanted her to be

[@byronmaldonado8203]

This either needs to become a book or a full movie cause the concepts in this are so cool

[@amiracaroandyeeeeet.2779]

A WHOLE FINANCED SERIES

[@fiercethundr_]

Luckily for you, this is an animation in an ongoing story that spans between many short animations. Welcome to autodale

[@xero4601]

I mean it’s already a series what else do you want

[@GlitchPitbunny]

An anime

[@byronmaldonado8203]

@@xero4601 tbh you are right but I wish it could be expanded on more.

[@Wulff20ko]

My favorite part about Autodale is that it’s a dystopia with a reason for being beyond just using the suffering of others to improve the lives of the few. There is no fixing autodale because if you did there would be nothing good to replace it. It’s a horrible place but one where the horror of it all at least has meaning and reason, reason enough to convince the Exceptional Girl.

[@KD-ou2np]

Theres only nothing good to replace it if you are incapable of imagining anything else.

[@apollyonnoctis1291]

No one is in a ‘favorable’ position in this hell. The citizens? They live in a horrible dystopia, indoctrinated to live and die in ignorance. The supposed Mayor? He’s a barely living corpse most of his parts now robotic, who is just as miserable having had to oversee the deaths of millions upon millions by this point, with the knowledge that this awful city is the only way left for humanity to survive in any significant way without either recessing to hunter gatherers, or outright going extinct. The poor Goddess? She is in pain and has to constantly be fed human sacrifices to survive. No one wins, and everyone is in chains.

[@imperatornoinga3646]

@@apollyonnoctis1291 nah I would simply organize hunting parties to feed it the demon-creatures of the outside and internal criminals while only taking blood tithes if absolutely necessary. Also, if it just needs blood there is no reason to kill people. The outside will be tamed and brought to civilization

[@loganroman5306]

This is what a dystopia set in a post apocalypse looks like, and it is very well done.

[@brendan5260]

Well it’s not enough to convince me. This entire city should burn. So what does that make me? An exceptional defiance?

[@DaVintageMan129]

I desperately wish this series would keep going

[@quinn5026]

The mayor is my favorite his design, his voice, and his emotion

[@IDK-fv3hu]

ikr, its cool how he acknowledged how wrong this entire system is aswell

[@AnmolSingh-mu5yq]

Fact: *Why isn't anyone noticing that the great inventor is almost like Micheal from V sauce?!*

[@comm154]

“All the unnecessary lies... they... are a kindness.” Edit: Thanks for all the likes! Didn’t expect to get any likes, and especially not 1k within a few hours. Remember ladies and gents: “There are no monsters here.”

[@tarot1919]

Nice job, your quoted something from the video that everyone heard. Nice job buddy got a real kicker from your comment.

[@FinnianRowland]

@@tarot1919 Now you’re just being mean.

[@doubtful_seer]

@@tarot1919 can’t say something nice? Don’t say it.

[@eggames859]

@@tarot1919 I didn’t hear that part lol, I thought he said “Monsters lie... they... are a kindness.”

[@twt8369]

@@tarot1919 it’s not like u can create more of a better comment then this

[@m3mber963]

This is a huge addition to the lore of this show. until now, people were mostly thinking stuff like this is a city of torture but now after the release of this part, its like a jigsaw. the parts come together forming an understanding in humans mind. its almost terrifying how much thought the author has put into this. Maybe this is supposed to symbolize some relation with real world like we are destroying our nature and what might happen in the near future.

[@TrelliessRose]

That's what I'm thinking... we keep nature alive just enough to keep going.

[@matthewpaine6908]

The creature most likely started eating people to sustain itself and when it ran low on humans it started to farm them instead. The whole town is a lie and manipulation so who's to say the old guy connected and watching over the creature isn't himself being manipulated to feed it.

[@promeneuzivotu117]

This might whant to say to us that even those that are on top are also working on behalf of something bigger.

[@summertriangle4745]

@@matthewpaine6908 you sure about that?

[@damianpadayachee5111]

@@matthewpaine6908 seems like a very painful way to feed.

[@Plastic_Fruitz]

I want a autodale game bro! This could be a great game concept

[@SirEnd3r]

This makes me think about the monster. Because when the mayor was kicking around there were no monsters depicted and he even said there were no monsters. In earlier shorts hive was unaware of these monster. So that means they are newish. There was a disease represented in this short maybe it turn people into the monster. In the short film don't feed the monsters the main dude who we see as human and then find out was a monster could have been turned into a monster by this disease.

[@chloej1611]

Wow, I really like this theory!

[@bella_daze3092]

Most likely.

[@bella_daze3092]

@@chloej1611 same here

[@kindoflame]

When does the Mayor say that there were no monsters back then and in what short does Hive reveal that they do not know what Freaks are?

[@Drago0900]

The whole monster thing though I believe is more symbolic for human nature. With the way the “monsters” act and how he viewed himself as one of them at the end of the short just solidifies that to me. (I haven’t watched that one in while though so I am not sure if I got the right message from it)

[@YellowPeej]

They’re keeping the goddess alive to fight off a deadly sickness, and using the uglies body parts to keep her alive... Is it really kindness when there is no humanity? When the things alive are nothing but fuel for an endless machine? The uglies being used as the life juice for the goddess- all the things which make humanity human. The goddess is the embodiment of both perfection and flaws, of true humanity, or of nature, and willingly goes through that pain to keep others alive- in which I assume she has no information about the outside world, about the lack of humanity, the deprivation of nature, and how those things alive have been transformed into nothing but fuel.

[@razorslazor6021]

No one could've predicted that

[@whiteside.mp3]

I thought the mayor was just a mad man, guess not

[@YellowPeej]

@@whiteside.mp3 He’s a demented genius, in a way. He’s keeping humanity alive, by erasing their humanity. It’s sick, twisted, and reaching far past a moral line.

[@Vampeerz]

wouldn't mother nature wouldn't care about some of her own creations since in another video she let other animals die. And killed a baby

[@YellowPeej]

@@Vampeerz True, True- but then why is she helping Autodale in the first place? Why does she care enough about the select few but not all? Has she been brainwashed? Some kind of Stockholm Syndrome?

[@davood7013]

I was half expecting to get a steam achievement saying “Know it all” or “You’ve figured it out”

[@Smellvin717]

The town is so interwoven with the goddess being it’s heart basically it’s crazy. If you think about it, the robots, the identical housing, the same outfits with the same colors and the same propaganda in each house are all the towns skin. They show on the outside, hiding what’s on the inside which are the organs of the town. The heart being the goddess, brain is the hive, and everything else is goopy and fleshy. Skin over organs

[@jfk0-fish518]

I can’t help bet feel empathetic, disgusted, sad, and afraid of this reality.

[@erickamakeeaina1649]

100th like

[@krzywozeby3791]

Which one?

[@krzywozeby3791]

Remember, just in case, that you can really affect environment around you.

[@labotamist8199]

This is deep ngl

[@tharinwattanayakorn5295]

Same

[@AK-Drakoin]

Isn’t it interesting that the goddess matriarch looks more human and the mayor looks more like how the matriarch looked originally?

[@apinkcat3766]

switched places, like a curse

[@dm_katy2263]

Hmmm... Good point. Maybe it's because the Mayor uses her powers to stay alive-Nono- Or maybe? The goddess looked a bit "rotten" and not healthly thin in the beginning... So maybe beause the goddess is fed "ugly-slushie" per say, she looks more human and regained her actual body structure while the Mayor only harnesses her energy has been rotting, making him look like a walking corpse... What do you think, friend?

[@AK-Drakoin]

@@dm_katy2263 I quite like that! It makes sense and it seems like an accurate interpretation- who knows perhaps in the upcoming making of videos he will bring it up.

[@dm_katy2263]

@@AK-Drakoin Thank you, I apriciate that! I hope he does

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

I can't say I know why, but I'm glad to see someone else noticed the mayor had the goddess's face. My best guess it's symbolic. Perhaps signifying the mayor's own decay, if not physically than morally.

[@kizuano176]

Everybody: I know the backstory behind all of this now Me: Jeez the mayor's cord on his back is L O N G

[@davidtweedy]

Me: PREACHING "BEWARE" in the timeline before this occurs. Everybody: Wearing masks, asking 4 brain nanobots & begging to inject va666ine poison that forces a smile..

[@cheesequaked]

I, too, always think about things like this heh his tether was an eternity

[@crystal3.0n58]

Right? I had the same thought. Were the frig does it go

[@thgritic102]

Me: Still wondering why the shape of the tower is a pen!s. Like did the mayor thought that up or someone else? 🤔

[@cheesequaked]

@@davidtweedy you're so delusional lmao but probably not wrong. I'll go for that to have some mighty sweet fun, yeah?

[@William-Afton_jejcjschheiqx]

Imagine a full length tv show about autodale I would literally die for that.

[@DonutCare564]

Am I the only one who thought the goddess looked like a decaying and twisted Mother of Nature? Like just look at tree things that were originally on her back... either that or I'm see connections where there aren't any idk

[@savathunthejudge914]

You're not. That my friend, is gaia. The world. Mamed. And drained, by none other than Alaya. The humanity

[@victorbressler7156]

i think she is for that animation yes

[@xstant1]

She looked remarkably similar to the one in one of his animations surrounding Mother Nature.

[@mrpayday7055]

I wasn't thinking that on the shorts but when she made her first appearance as normal... TOTALLY SAW IT. It makes so much sense! But........ Mother nature is not always kind.... 😉

[@ddubmomo]

Right there with ya. When she walked on, I literally shouted at my screen, “Is that Mother Nature? IS THAT MOTHER NATURE!?”

[@randomplaceinruralamerica9618]

So Autodale’s exceptional get turned into these replicants of the “Beacon of the Past” They use the blood from the ugly to power the Beacon There are giant creatures with various abilities in the wastelands and they’re dying The Mayor seems ashamed of the robotic guards that patrol the lands and Autodale Exceptionals can see through the lies but just become apart of the HIVE thus becoming apart of the very system they saw through

[@whitesavage6349]

To keep that "GOD" alive they, are killing the "ugly" because we saw that creature has powers usefull for mankind. Im really interested what happened to world, how freaks were born, are there more of these ancient "Gods"

[@KalraSura]

It also seems the world has been ruined by a sickness

[@demon108hunter6]

And I think the HIVE might have killed the mayor because he seems ashamed about the robots and the handymen so the girl decided to kill him because the HIVE didn’t need him anymore since they can run it themselves fine

[@bucksteingold4334]

Is that what those interconnected women were communicating telepathically(was there a guy in there, too?). Can you explain a little more please? So, she was going to be "incorporated" with the other ones? And for what purpose exactly? They were definitely occupying one of the rooms(levels) of Hell!

[@riograndedosulball248]

I'm getting Warhammer vibes here A thousand psyker souls per day to keep the Golden Throne running! The Astronomicon is the only thing keeping humanity from destruction! Xenos at the gates! The Emperor Protects!

[@grummpyoldboy]

this would make a Great game. A robot detective in a post apocalyptic world where he’s programmed to think the freaks are evil and he slowly realizes that they’re not and that the robots that are made to protect, are.

[@Ash-by4rt]

gives me detroit become human vibes

[@sergtrufanov5565]

So basically metro 2033 plot?

[@colourblindchalk]

@@Ash-by4rt Autodale: Become Exceptional

[@PolarNitaIsTired]

@@colourblindchalk good one xD

[@TrelliessRose]

Ooh, have you seen Armsby's _Friendly Shadow?_

[@VVesteria]

Man I hope this series returns someday

[@peeblekitty5780]

this is ONE GUY. made ALL OF THIS. ALL THESE SHORTS *_you talented bastard_*

[@toxicfx_nuhaad9175]

talented? i think you mean hardworking

[@NoNameO7]

@@toxicfx_nuhaad9175 both

[@Ozguryalnik]

I love full cat profile photos

[@richardshiflett5181]

He needed VAs too

[@aksunonair]

I swear. He came up with the stories, voice acted most of the male characters and animated them. God definitely got favourites >:(

[@swingardium706]

The goddess was dying because of the sickness that had spread over the Earth, so the Mayor built Autodale. Anyone deemed "ugly" by the system was used as fuel in her life support systems. The goddess keeps the town pure and alive, and they keep her alive. A symbiotic relationship.

[@carly5978]

I wouldn't call it symbiosis... It's more of a parasitic relationship. The "uglies" could easily have continued to live a normal life, but instead, they are harmed to benefit the goddess.

[@AK-Drakoin]

…that’s a very scarily accurate description isn’t it

[@emilsinclair4190]

@@carly5978 not realy. It seems like the sickness kills humans. So the ugliest would be dead without the goodness.

[@swingardium706]

@@carly5978 But she needs SOMEBODY'S life force to survive or else Autodale becomes vulnerable to the sickness plaguing the outside world. Instead of just choosing from the population at random, the Mayor decided that certain personality traits would earmark people for "harvesting", and it makes sense to choose the personality traits that clash with Autodale's perfect image.

[@Kraken160th]

I don't think the goddess is consenting to this. She did not look happy.

[@brandongreenland9632]

The mayor looks menacing, but he’s really just lonely, wants to chill out. Also... He is the mayor, after all.

[@tortis6342]

He is the mayor, after all.

[@Blacklemonsss]

He needs a snickers

[@amused_team4496]

he looks like a unvaccinated kid

[@Onisamurai99]

2 years late on this but I have to say this is one of the best dystopian stories I’ve ever seen. It has such a well built universe and plot, not to mention the fantastic art style. 10/10

[@Delusoon]

Just imagine how cool it would be if at the end of these stories everything goes into bright colors

[@Addis0074]

That would be a great end to the series, but I think we need all the story in gray and blood red so that the contrast even more prominent.

[@KangDaMonke]

@@Addis0074 there’s also yellow, like the candle and sun in the friendly shadow. That’s positive but it’s rare and only one colour so it’s still prominent.

[@arlieastoryandexperience2274]

I think that's what gives this world the extra pop that it needed. And personally think that's what makes this so alluring, when ever I'm wrighting I always turn to this to give me ideas and those small pop of happiness and tragedy really takes it from a great story to great story telling and an amazing story. And I love everything about it.

[@susiestevenson7561]

:0

[@KangDaMonke]

Why would it do that?

[@chucklesdeclown8819]

Why is this so moving and almost lovcraftian at the same time.

[@theftparrot5750]

Connected universe to his lovecraftian video?

[@GnomeChompskiGnomesYou_Bruh]

the two elements aren't exclusive is the smart ass answer im going to give.

[@scrathed]

I think it's a great art to combine these aspects :3 And David definetly is what I would call a great artist.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

I think that's what's so unsettling about the whole thing. Knowing the atrocities that have been committed in the sake of survival and then wondering if they're worth it, it's mind-bending. You could even say maddening. Then you see the exceptional girl, while still trying to process all of this, encounters a being who she cannot comprehend. It's understandable the she goes "mad" and allies herself with the horrors. You should go watch Deadsound's short he did where he made his own Lovecraftian Horror story. I think you'd like it, and see the similarities.

[@danm8403]

I believe this whole thing leading to the founding of Autodale has been a cycle that's repeated over and over again. In the previous videos we've seen other gods in other cities, all of whom seem to have died painful deaths. This is especially evident in, "Don't Feed The Freaks", where he literally passes by the ruins of cities with similar monuments. Perhaps the Freaks are humans mutated by the virus from the beginning of the video, and the remnants of humanity grow smaller and smaller with the destruction of each city. Eventually, the old humanity dies out probably after Autodale collapses, and all that remains will be the Freaks. I think that the gods, the Mayor, the Hive, and all the other leading figures of Autodale are the last remnants of a dying species, and they resent the Freaks because the Freaks are the future.

[@d.v.3314]

And just like this goddess, I suspect all the other ones were protective entities. Like the one at the start of "Don't Feed the Freaks", who is sheltering the boy simply by the pose she died in. Obviously that's not conscious on her part, but I think it represents that these gods were benevolent, like the one keeping Autodale alive.

[@moisesm9602]

Omg you guys just wrote a freaking book report. I wish I was this good at writing!

[@James-vc5be]

I think the mayor is collecting exeptional people because he wants to avoid this future and the more exeptional people there are the more chance someone will figure out a way to permanently stop the virus.

[@wafflegamer2647]

The freaks look slightly similair to the godess, maybe the gods are elder creatures of the same species?

[@FrankCastle-tq9bz]

I hold similar sentiments - the humans of this world are fighting against their inevitable demise as they can't accept that nature has finally selected them to go and that the "freaks" are their chosen replacements.

[@graf_physeter]

I have to say, Autodale is my favorite Dystopia of them all out there.

[@RandomPerson-sf9vd]

You and me both friend.

[@overthinkit_]

“‘Being Pretty’ started with this drawing. What it became was very different.” I’d certainly say so.

[@jpkproductions27]

This short film actually explains everything in the entire series for me. I think it just started with the whole world becoming advanced and even making robots but then some sort of virus killed everything and the only thing that could cure them was the matriarchs. When the survivors found this they made several different societies with matriarchs to protect them from the virus. I'm guessing the last remaining matriarch where captured and put into the huge towers. Then the matriarchs started dying so they made the system in Autodale today. Some societies started rebeling but those societies probably fell really early on because there is no way a modern autodale/other societies would rebel. Most of the cities fell because of the matriarchs themselves, however. In "don't feed the freaks" the main character's civilization was ended because the matriarch had broken out and tried to run from the torched and was somehow killed. Because of that the people either started dying or becoming freaks. I'm guessing the virus had evolved from just killing people to mutating them into the freaks. The reason the civilization had no dead bodies and no citizens yet still things on the walls saying don't feed the freaks and other bad things about the freaks is because the people who hadn't been infected yet saw them as monsters. This or other reasons like it caused every other civilization fall leaving Autodale and the matriarch as the last of their kind. I loved this animation and it really tied everything together. There was always so much mystery to the series but now it feels like things actually make sense and everything happens for a reason. Great job I loved it!!!!!!

[@donz6211]

It still leaves the question of how will it all end.

[@saikoujikan]

@@donz6211 The only way a story like this can end, in stasis or in entropy. Either the status quo is upheld, or things gradually fall apart. Change is dead in the world of autodale. And worse than that, change is death.

[@O-OO1-O]

Haven't seen the behind-the-scenes, just shooting in the dark here but could the matriarch in autodale be the majors' daughter? Mutated by the goddess?

[@Tir3d0]

How didn’t this get shadow banned You’re really right though. Also when ever I write a long comment it doesn’t show up

[@shadmanhasan4205]

@@saikoujikan qqqà0

[@michelwerner3276]

This story looks like it could fit into "love death and robots". It is impressive that all this was made by just one person.

[@blobking6595]

This could be one of those episodes where it comes back in later series

[@j.a.i8737]

so true this would be perfect

[@diegovarela1043]

I can't be the only one that thinks there is *so much lore* in this story, so much more than it seems... And so much potential! This series is awesome, I really hope more people discover it, truly a masterpiece

[@balckbelttime]

It makes sense now. Why the people are killed. They are used to fuel the goddess. I love this. You do a good job storytelling

[@Game_Hero]

messed up

[@TheAtroxious]

This series is immensely satisfying to me. The themes, the visual design, the sound design, the slow unfolding of the story. It has similar elements to some of my favorite books, movies and games, and even with post apocalyptic fiction falling into disfavor over the past five or so years, it's really gratifying to see someone out there who embraces the genre for something more than just a trend to be capitalized on and then put out to pasture once it's not profitable enough. What I wouldn't give to see this story as a full length movie or TV series. Oh, and it's great to see a creator posting their passion project for the rest of us to enjoy, and _not_ disappearing off the face of the earth or moving on and pretending the project never existed before tying up a single loose end.

[@blankuchan4394]

That girl who escaped with the freak in Friendly Shadow is probably gonna have it the best out there, even if there's a virus, cause she'll live a real life, instead of what she had in Autodale, she even has her friend with her, the part in Friendly Shadow where the young freak's parent got killed was sad, so the girl and the freak only had each other, anyhow, this series is stunning and amazing

[@amarketablesalmon6294]

I think the virus turns ppl into freaks, and what autodale doesn’t get is that those infected ppl are living a better life than those in safety.

[@blockstacker5614]

i think in the "making of" video for that episode dead sound said that this could be a subject of a future episode. probably wouldnt be finished anytime soon though because each one takes months to make because he is the only one who works on them.

[@ImTired17]

Alright, I just finished watching Autodale for the first time. And it is absolutely horrifying. This series genuinely gave me chills, and is by far the best webseries that I have ever watched. 10/10, will watch this masterpiece again.

[@Sajosh1986]

This will probably get lost in the comments but I wanted to say how amazing this was. Both the story and the production quality. Every time I see a new animation from David I'm so impressed by the increase in quality. Well done, David!

[@Cecil...]

Not lost. I found you!

[@zidhanfarazy2137]

And the most amazing thing is he made this Amazingly time consuming projects for free to us enjoy

[@WOODENCHAIR64]

dont let this man get lost!

[@hotdogcat5874]

Same

[@polite4canadians184]

Every major entertainment corporation must be sweating bullets trying to figure out how to sign him.

[@xylonlee7584]

Mayor : Oh look a exceptional girl who saw through our lies. Hope she helps us find another way. The girl : NOPE.

[@CorenusYT]

Mayor : i hope she will find another way to ensure our survival in a dying world... The Exceptional Girl : ha ha ha! Autodale core's upgrade to a hive of exceptional minds goes vrrrrrr

[@starfirejordan9875]

Big Oof

[@haydensmith859]

I doubt she was the first exceptional. There "could" have been others, but the system kept them from being truly exceptional.

[@aecholapis]

Where is everyone's favourite "Hello, citizens of Autodale"?

[@fyraltari1889]

None of this is something the citizens of Autodale are allowed to know about.

[@archievii]

I gotta say there’s something about this thats weirdly romantic. I’m not sure what it is, but I feel a sense of love from the mayor. He doesn’t want to do these things, but at the same time he needs to. I’m hoping we get to see what happens when the goddess is released.